by Amy Miles
The kiss lingered, their passion rising and fading like the tides. Roseline’s mind went into auto mode as she sank into his embrace. After what felt like an eternity, Roseline realized something was off. Gabriel should have come up for breath ages ago, and yet his lips still moved against hers.
“Uh, excuse me…”
Roseline gasped and pulled back. A security guard stood next to them, his face stern with disapproval. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered, stepping away from Gabriel. He waivered but managed to hold his ground. His skin was flushed; his eyes glowing brightly in the dim light, his scent seared her nose as she fought to keep her distance.
“This is a family museum, you know. I think you two should follow me,” the man ordered gruffly, pointing towards a door hidden in the shadows on other side of the room.
Sheepishly, Roseline followed, keeping her eyes glued to the floor. She wasn’t upset about being caught, she was grateful for the interruption. If that guard hadn’t come along…Roseline shivered. She had to make sure that never happened again.
***
“Jimmy’s again?” Gabriel asked, his voice unnaturally void of emotion. They’d said very little after being kicked out of the aquarium with a stern warning not to return. What was there to say? They both knew the connection was strengthening between them but things were so confusing. Only Roseline understood why.
“Yeah, sure,” Roseline shrugged, unenthusiastically.
The vehicle slipped into a parking spot and Gabriel shoved it into park. He let his hands drop to his lap and waited, unsure of what to say. Roseline knew it was time to go, to run away before things got any more complicated, but she couldn’t do it.
The idea of leaving Gabriel felt like someone had ripped her heart out and stuck it on the end of a blunt stake for all to see, bleeding and mortally wounded but unable to die. “So I guess I’ll see you around?” Roseline whispered, pushing her door open.
“Of course,” Gabriel replied. “Bright and early.”
Roseline grimaced. “I really don’t think it’s a good idea for you to meet me at Sadie’s car in the morning. It’ll just fuel the gossip,” she smiled bitterly, admitting that it wouldn’t be too far from the truth. She had made out with him. True it had been painfully brief, but it’d been better than any kiss she’d ever had before.
“Not the car. The library,” he smiled over at Roseline. “Did you forget?”
“You can’t be serious,” she gasped. “You still want to meet after what happened?”
Gabriel reached across the seat, grabbing Roseline’s hand in his. “Nothing has changed Rose.”
“Of course it has. Everything’s changed!” she cried, her voice trembling. Roseline was standing on the edge of apprehension, teetering precariously towards full blown panic. “We can’t be together,” she hissed, pulling her hand away.
“Why not?” Gabriel’s voice echoed loudly around the car. “Because it’s too intense for you? Are you scared of what might happen if you get close to me?”
Roseline sighed. “Yes.”
Gabriel’s eyes widened. “Ok. I wasn’t expecting a straight out admission.”
She groaned, burying her head in her hands. Why was this so complicated? She’d just wanted to get away from Vladimir, to have a new life. But she’d never dreamed that her new life would include a passionate fling!
“Gabriel,” she whispered, turning tear filled eyes on him. “There’s a lot you don’t know about me. My past…it’s complicated. I can’t drag you into it.”
“So you are in trouble,” Gabriel frowned.
Roseline wanted to lie, to tell him that it was all a big misunderstanding, but her emotions were too raw. “There was this guy…he was very abusive and that’s why I had to leave. I’m afraid if he finds out about you he’ll do something terrible.”
Images of Gabriel’s face contorted with pain swept through Roseline’s mind, firming her resolve. “I’m so sorry Gabriel. I never meant for you to get hurt.” Roseline hopped out of the car and raced away, not even caring if Gabriel wondered how she moved so quickly. His desperate calls followed her down the street. He threw his car into gear and raced around the corner, but Roseline was already gone.
Chapter 6
The pain felt unbearable but the mental agony was far better than the gaping hole in her heart, oozing misery at an alarming rate. Three weeks and it hadn’t let up. Oh no. The pain had intensified greatly.
Roseline was nearly delirious from it as she stumbled back to her bed. The cockroaches scattered, skirting the yellow stained wallpaper peeling from her motel room wall. She’d made it to somewhere in southern Illinois before running out of gas. Not the crude oil type. Emotionally and physically she’d fallen apart. Her legs had given out on her, dumping her off in front of this dive.
She had no idea where she was. Some backwoods motel with farm land as far as the eye could see. Flickering static on the TV screen was the only light she let into the room. The only interaction she had with the outside world was her weekly call to the lobby to pay the sleazy, armpit stained tobacco spitting clerk, who’d suggested more than once that he was free after ten each night if she wanted some company.
Roseline hadn’t eaten in three weeks and barely had the energy to take a shower. Not that she really cared to. Roseline wanted to wallow in her degradation. Depression, far more severe than she’d ever imagined was possible, swallowed her whole and spat her back out once it grew annoyed with her moping.
The phone rang. Roseline blinked slowly, the sound wiggling through the haze of misery. Her hand flopped against the sticky bedside table. The old fashioned, corded handset jangled again.
“Go away,” she moaned as she shoved the phone onto the floor. The handset fell off, the ringing replaced by an irritating message that her call had been disconnected. Roseline rolled back over, burying her face in the soiled cover. She wanted to die, to do anything to make the pain cease.
Moments later, Roseline’s head jerked up, mouth gaped wide in horror. Her door rocked on its rusty hinges as someone on the other side slammed against it. Terror washed over her as she leapt to her feet. Her gaze swept the room as acid churned in her stomach. How foolish she’d been not to plan an escape route, but then again she’d never dreamed that an Immortal would find her in that insect infested room.
She lunged for her bag, silently rolling to her feet as she came to a halt by the door. Whoever was on the other side of the door would know she’d be braced for attack, but she had no other choice. It was fight or be taken. And she couldn’t let that happen!
The knock sounded again and Roseline crouched low. Her ears pricked up as she heard a key slide into the lock. Her muscles pulled taught, ready to spring into action. The door swung inward and Roseline dove, slamming the person hard into the wall.
“Ouch!” a strangled voice yelled.
Roseline instantly released her attacker. She backed away, watching as the heavily coated figure stood to its full height. “Nice to see you too, Rose.”
“Gabriel?” Roseline gasped, throwing herself at him. She spun him around, scanning for any injuries. “Are you ok? Did I hurt you?”
“I’ll be fine,” he huffed, holding his bruised side. “Man you’ve got a good tackle. Too bad you’re a girl,” he chuckled painfully. Roseline helped him to the edge of the bed, wincing at the drool dampened spot where she’d just been laying.
“What are you doing here?” Roseline asked, quickly backing away once he was seated. She sank back onto her knees, her legs too wobbly to risk standing. Just the sight of him chased away the long weeks of agony.
Apart from a gash on his forehead, probably a few bruised ribs and a rapidly forming black eye, Gabriel looked amazing. “I came for you of course. Ugh,” he groaned, looking around the room. “This place is disgusting.”
Roseline nodded, truly seeing it for the first time. “Yeah, well I was hoping it would be secluded.”
Gabriel’s face drooped. “How could you le
ave like that? Sadie’s convinced you were kidnapped by some psycho. William’s been putting up signs with your picture on it all over the place. And I…” Gabriel dropped to the floor, kneeling in front of Roseline, all thought of his aching side vanishing. “I thought I’d lost you Rose.”
A tear escaped. “I know.”
“Do you?” he asked. He reached out and pushed back her greasy hair. “When you left…nothing else mattered to me. I stopped going to school, stopped going to practice and royally ticked off my dad.”
“How did you find me?” she whispered, staring up into his glorious face. It was the face of an angel, her guardian angel. Suddenly she wondered why she’d ever been foolish enough to leave his side. Why she’d been willing to hurt him so deeply.
No. She’d thought he would forget about her. Go back to Claire or some other girl. Roseline had never dreamed that his feelings would mirror her own, running far deeper than should be possible for a mortal.
“I hired a private detective.”
She was amazed at how ludicrous that sounded. “Really? Aren’t they expensive?”
Gabriel broke into a grin, nodding. “Yep. $1,000 a day.”
Roseline gasped. “You paid $21,000 just to find me? How could you possibly afford that?”
“Well actually it was only $17,000,” Gabriel admitted sheepishly. “I tried to find you myself the first couple days.”
“Yeah but still…” she trailed off, deeply touched by his sacrifice.
Gabriel shrugged. “I sold my Range Rover.”
Roseline’s hands flew to her mouth. “Oh no,” she groaned, sinking back against the wall. “This is all my fault.” Gabriel pulled her into his arms, hugging her with ferocious need, as if he thought she might slip between his fingers again. “I’m so sorry,” she cried, clinging to Gabriel.
“Shh,” he soothed, rubbing her back. “It’s ok. I’m here now.”
Yes, he was and everything suddenly felt right again. Like the sun had parted the storm clouds, pushing away the despair and misery that’d fed off of her for weeks. She leaned back and ran a hand through her hair. “Oh!” she gasped, realizing for the first time what a state she was in. “Don’t look at me,” she screamed, rushing to the bathroom.
Gabriel’s chuckle warmed her as she stripped out of her clothes and jumped under the freezing shower water. “Take all the time you need. I don’t want you stinking up my new car.”
“You’re lucky I can’t reach you right now,” Roseline called over the running water. Then a thought hit her. “New car?”
She could imagine Gabriel’s wince as his strained voice drifted in through the partially opened door. “Yeah, Steve was furious with me. I had to practically sign over my life to him before he bought me a new one.”
“Meaning?” she asked, rushing to clean every ounce of grime from her body.
“I’m not allowed to miss any more practice, I have to make up all the work I missed and wax his car for the next year, or until I go to college.”
Roseline sighed, turning off the water. She yanked down a towel and dried off before tiptoeing to the door. “I’m really sorry Gabriel.”
“It was worth it,” he smiled, his eyes darting to meet hers as she poked her head out of the steamy room.
“Could you throw me that bag by the door?” she asked, holding the door tightly against her head so Gabriel couldn’t see anything.
Gabriel moved across the thread bare carpet to pick up the bag. “You mean the one with all of your clothes?” he asked, approaching.
Roseline ducked back behind the bathroom door, sticking out her hand. “Yes.”
“So if I were to accidentally throw it just out of reach, you’d have to come out and get it, right?” She couldn’t help but laugh. That felt good.
Although she was still just getting to know Gabriel, she had learned one very important thing. He cared deeply for her, even though he had no clue why. “Trust me, you’ll regret it if you do.” Her threat fell weak when she burst into giggles.
Silence filled the room. “Gabriel?”
“I’m thinking.”
Giving in to her reckless side, Roseline slipped out of the bathroom. The towel was small, more like a glorified hand towel, but it covered her well enough. Gabriel stood just a few feet away, twirling the bag around his finger. The moment he saw her, his mouth dropped open and the bag fell to the floor, forgotten.
His gaze fell on the beads of water slowly sliding down her shoulder, dripping from her wet hair. The further south he looked, the hotter his cheeks grew. All of Roseline’s former confidence vanished as she fidgeted under Gabriel’s intense scrutiny. He gulped, finally returning to meet her gaze.
“Wow,” Gabriel said breathlessly.
Roseline smiled timidly. “So can I have my bag now?” Her fingers dug into the towel’s rough material, praying that her trembling hands didn’t betray her and let go.
Gabriel’s Adams apple bobbed as he nodded, dipping low to pick up the bag. He stepped forward, leaning to hand it to her. His rampaging pulse sounded loudly in her ears as he closed the distance. The instant his fingers touched hers Gabriel jerked back and marched determinedly towards the bed. He sat, plunging his hands through his hair as he blew out a breath.
“Are you ok?” Roseline asked, suddenly unsure. She’d never had a guy react like that before. But then again she’d never been with a guy who was physically able to walk away, especially when she presented herself in such an appealing manner.
“Uh…yeah,” Gabriel cleared his throat, blinking rapidly. “I think so. I’m just not sure how much self control I can manage at the moment.”
“Right, well I’ll just go get dressed,” Roseline whispered, slipping back into the bathroom. Even through the closed door she could hear his whispered groan. “Calm down, you idiot. You’ve just found her so don’t mess this up!”
Roseline smiled, feeling a small surge of triumph. So Gabriel wasn’t completely immune to her charms.
***
“What’d your dad say when you dropped out of school?” Roseline asked just before taking another massive bite of her hamburger. Greasy fast food had never tasted so good.
Gabriel flicked the turn signal, pulling back onto the interstate. “He wasn’t too ticked about that, but he did hit the roof when he got the call from Coach. If I wasn’t their star player I’d be off the team by now.”
Roseline gulped down the lump in her throat. “And he’s making you play in the state finals next month?
Gabriel cast a worried glance towards her. “Rose, the game’s this weekend. Didn’t you realize how long you’ve been gone?”
Shaking her head, Roseline tossed her half eaten burger back into the bag. Her stomach churned at the thought of how much time had really passed. Three weeks. It’d felt like a lifetime. “No. I guess the days all kinda ran together. I mean I knew…but I guess I didn’t really have the strength to care, if that makes any sense.”
Gabriel fell silent, eyes glued to the road as he steered his brand new, bought straight off the show room floor, silver Range Rover. Apparently his father hadn’t been ticked enough at Gabriel to let go of his pride. “Will you come to the game?”
Roseline paused, unsure of how she should answer. Of course she wanted to see him play, even though she had decided she loathed the sport. It was too long, too confusing and way too boring! “Sadie will be there.”
“Oh,” she sighed, dreading the thought of explaining her disappearance to her friend. “Well then I should probably go.”
Gabriel nodded. “Sure. For Sadie.”
“Definitely,” Roseline agreed, falling silent. The miles passed by slowly. Bleak wintry farm land stretched on and on. The horizon began to lighten as they neared Chicago. Several hours had passed since they’d spoken, neither one sure of what to say. On the outskirts of town, Gabriel broke the silence.
“I know things are confusing right now and I’ll admit I’m kinda freaked out by all of this, but I need
you to promise me that you won’t run away again.” His voice was strained; his white fingers held the steering wheel in a death grip. “I can’t lose you again Rose.”
Roseline shifted in her seat, positioning her body towards Gabriel. As she chewed on the words that’d been bouncing around her brain for over an hour, she couldn’t help but admire his handsome profile. “I think we should spend more time together.”
Gabriel blinked, shocked. “Are you serious?” He flipped on his turn signal and pulled off at their exit. His foot added a bit more pressure to the gas pedal.
“Yes,” Roseline replied firmly. She’d had plenty of time to think it over during the agonizing drive home. “Obviously being apart didn’t work out too well for us and to be honest I’m tired of fighting it. I want to be with you Gabriel, to get to know you. And the rest…well let’s just hope the past stays in the past.” She knew it was a flippant answer, but she was too weary to think about what could happen.
Gabriel’s silence worried Roseline. What could he be thinking? Had she been wrong about the way he felt for her? Surely not. The guy had just spent thousands of dollars trying to find her. That had to count for something.
“What are you thinking?” Roseline whispered, too nervous to look at him.
Blowing out a breath, Gabriel shook his head. “I’m not really sure. A part of me keeps waiting for you to change your mind.”
“I won’t,” Roseline promised, biting down on her lip. “I can’t.”
“Why not?” Gabriel asked, glancing at her as he eased over to the side of the road. Roseline recognized it. They were only a block from his house.
Roseline sighed and shifted towards him, finally letting him see the tears streaming down her face. “Because I’m bound to you.”
Gabriel stretched out his hand and gently brushed back a stray hair from Roseline’s face, the golden highlights shimmering under the street light glowing overhead. His hand paused, gently cupping her cheek. “That’s the way I feel too,” he whispered. Roseline leaned into his hand, closing her eyes, enjoying his warmth. It wasn’t the same searing blaze she was used to. This was tender…loving.
